Custom Project Saving Energy and Reducing Maintenance Costs

Rich Chambers, Facilities Supervisor at Fairview Northland, recently upgraded their vacuum system by installing variable speed drives (VSD) on the motors. Prior to the retrofit, the motors ran at constant speed 24 hours a day. Since the system did not require 24-hour operation, the frequent starts and stops were hard on the motors and caused premature failure. The motors now run at 40% speed with fewer starts and stops. Fairview earned a utility rebate of $1,500 and they should save $3,000 per year in energy costs. Rich commented, “The energy savings are great, but the added benefit of less motors failures made this project easy to justify. In the past the motors failed every 2 to 3 years.”